Ed Tech Ideas

As part of our science curriculum we teach a unit called “Structures of Life.” A great resource to use for this unit is the cuddly mealworm (which are actually larva, not worms). They’re easy to care for, the metamorphic phase is relatively short (each stage takes a few weeks), and let’s face it, they’re downright cute.

Resources

Here are some resources I use when having my students do research on the life cycle of a mealworm.

• All about Mealworms – Enchanted Learning. Great site for information gathering about your loveable mealworm.
• More Mealworm Info – Good facts here from the University of Arizona
• Mealworm Webquest– Lots of facts and pictures here from Golden Lake Elementary School.
• Insect Brainpop – “Diversity of Life” (This movie  now requires a Brainpop subscription)
• Images of Insects — Lots of good images and facts from the Iowa State University’s Department of Entomology.
• FossWeb – Great collection of information for teachers and students

Ideas

Some projects that I’ve done in the past with my third grade students include Movies, PowerPoints, Webquests, Collaboration Project with High School Biology Classes, Creating Mini-books, Microscope Explorations, and Interviews with Entomologists.